Short Summary

Description

Both neg and print have been transferred to Digibeta - see also 894.25. Check for best quality.

"Unlike Gilbert & Sullivan's Policeman, the Bargee's life is a happy one. The busy bustle of the Docks..."

L/S of the docks with cargo boats and barges beside a bridge. Another shot of the docks with barges in foreground and schooner type boat in background. Another view of the docks. "The quiet peaceful passage on placid waters." M/S of a barge passing underneath a bridge. A man in waistcoat and flat cap watches its progress. View of the banks of the canal from a moving barge. Little shanty type houses or huts are seen right on the river's edge and warehouses are seen in the background. "Who would imagine that country scenes exist in the East End of London - but, they do...! How's this - near Old Ford...?" Camera pans across a scene with two locks and a lock-keepers cottage. M/S of man standing on the back of a barge with a large chimney behind him and nice canal scenes.

"A Bargee's life has, of course, its dark spots - tunnels for instance..." M/S of a tunnel as the barge approaches it. M/S of a barge entering the tunnel. Shot from inside the tunnel as the light at the end of it gradually gets bigger and bigger. Another dark spot in the bargee's life is smoke "coal, not tobacco." L/S of a barge approaching the camera. Smoke billows all around it. Several men stand around on the canal bank. L/S of two barges emerging from the tunnel seen earlier. "And in the "basins" the family foregathers..." L/S of several barges gathered together. C/U of a family on a barge - some grubby looking children! C/U of a man standing in his barge. Intertitle reads: "Even art has its place here, when day is fast being gathered up on the wings of night..." Shots at dusk of a canal boat moving along. Shot at dusk of canal boats at rest. Regent's Canal - one of the boats is called "Ellesmere".

Was a Pathe Pictorial item - issue not known.

Amendment - December 2011: A visitor to the site has pointed out that the second part of this clip does not take place on the Regent's Canal. The Ellesmere is on the Bridgewater Canal, crossing the Manchester Ship Canal on the Bridgewater Swing Aqueduct. It then shows the aqueduct (and the Barton Swing Road Bridge) opening to allow a tug to pull a ship along the Manchester Ship Canal.